Monday, February 24, 2014

NIGERIA: Coalition raises alarm over artificial scarcity of cement

A coalition of civil society and professional bodies, on Sunday, raised alarm that some cement manufacturers and their dealers were tactically withdrawing the products from the market to cause artificial scarcity and drive up the price nationwide.

It would be recalled that the coalition recently raised alarm over the prevalence of low grade 32.5 cement in the country. This led the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, to inaugurate a technical committee to review the standard of cement used in the country, with a view to standardising the products.

The coalition spokesperson, Mr. Tunde Ojo, told journalists in Lagos that the current market disruptive move by the unpatriotic cement manufacturers was aimed at slowing down SON’s resolve to standardise the product.
According to him, the Federal Government should move in very fast and checkmate the activities of stakeholders in the industry who are hoarding the commodity.

He said: “They do not really care about the lives of ordinary Nigerians but their profits. It is very unfortunate that this is happening in this part of the world. The activities of these unpatriotic groups have now resulted in the hike of price of the product in various parts of the country and if not quickly cautioned or checked, this will lead to an abnormal price increase for cement.”

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